EU support sought for renovation of Lithuanian poet's museum in Kaliningrad region

BNS

2018 m. april 30 d. 16:48

Kristijonas Donelaitis

EU support is being sought for the renovation of the 18th century Lithuanian poet Kristijonas Donelaitis' memorial museum in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Gintaras Skamaročius, chairman of the Kristijonas Donelaitis Society, told BNS that an application has been filed this month for almost 10 million euros in funding for repairs and acquisitions.

According to Skamaročius, the funds are expected to be provided under a Lithuania-Russia cross-border cooperation program and would be used to renovate not only a former parish house and church, which are part of the museum, on the Russian side of the border, but also a barn on the Lithuanian side.

The museum in Chistye Prudy, a village in the Russian exclave, is now in a poor state.

If the EU funding is approved, works in Chistye Prudy and Kiduliai, in the southern Lithuanian district of Šakiai, could begin in the spring or summer of 2019, Skamarocius said.

Donelaitis, a Lutheran pastor, wrote Metai (The Seasons), the first classic Lithuanian-language poem.